Hebei, Xiangzhou City, Zhoujin Hall.
This building symbolizes Han Qi, a famous minister of the Northern Song Dynasty who "considered fate and made decisions in two dynasties". He was an extremely popular minister and had a glorious life through the three dynasties of Shiren, Ying and Shen. It stands on the east side of Xiangzhou Mansion Office. Among the splendid buildings, pavilions and gardens are scattered here and there. Compared with these exquisite and elegant palaces and pavilions, the Xiangzhou Mansion Office next to it looks low and withered, just like a foil.
The main hall of Zhoujin Hall is even more grand in scale and luxurious in architecture. On the side of the main hall, next to the three old locust trees that Han Qi planted with his own hands, there is a stone tablet eight feet high and half a foot wide, which is the famous three unique monuments throughout the world. This monument, written by Ouyang Xiu and written by Cai Xiang, records Han Qi's life and deeds, including the famous sentence "He came to be a general and prime minister from an official position, and returned to his hometown with wealth and honor". Both writing and calligraphy are the best choice of the world. It is a rare thing for scholars all over the world to ask for a monument. It is a lifelong honor to be invited into the hall to observe it with one's own eyes.
But the current magistrate of Xiangzhou, Deputy Marshal of the Hebei Army Wang Boyan, turned a blind eye to this stone tablet with red and red ink and the writing of dragons and snakes. He just dragged his legs that were slightly sore from the cold wind and walked as quickly as possible. Walking into this building covered with green glazed tiles at a fast speed.
——At this moment, the Han family, the old owners of Xiangzhou City and Zhoujin Hall, had abandoned their ancestral home and moved south with their families in order to avoid the disaster of war. In front of the main entrance of the Zhou Jin Hall, a brand new plaque with the name "Hebei Military Marshal's Mansion" was put on... Under the plaque, several guards were wearing fish scale armor, standing with their swords in hand. Everyone looked solemn and focused. Squint and have an arrogant demeanor. But when they saw Wang Boyan, the prefect and deputy marshal of the Hebei army, coming, no one dared to show off. They hurriedly greeted him and saluted him, and then respectfully invited Wang Boyan into the room.
In the west wing of Zhoujin Hall, Zhao Huan, the newly minted Generalissimo Kang of Hebei Province, was sitting on the couch, holding a few letters, waiting for Wang Boyan to come. As soon as they met, he called his cousin affectionately, " ...Ting Jun, how is the reorganization of the rebel armies in various places?”
"...Going back to Your Highness, since His Highness established the government of Xiangzhou, I have been carefully organizing the recruitment and reorganization of troops for several days. Now there are 20,000 rebels who have claimed to be willing to defect to the Generalissimo's office, and there are 10,000 former soldiers of the Forbidden Army in Hebei and Guanxi alone. There are about 30,000 people coming from Daming, Dongping, Cangzhou and other places
In addition, the inventory of the arsenal in the city has been completed, and there are a total of 1,000 armors, 3,000 crossbows, and 200,000 arrows. The city's crossbow yard and weaponry are all ready, and the materials are sufficient. If the craftsmen are rushed to make them, , enough to equip 30,000 people within twenty days. ”
Wang Boyan bowed and saluted and replied, "...the grain and rice in the city can be used by an army of 100,000 for three months. Your Highness can use this place as a foundation and the army as a bargaining chip to deal with Tokyo. In any case, at least We can’t let His Highness end up like this!”
——After learning that the Jin soldiers were destroyed and Tokyo was relieved of the siege, Zhao Gou and Wang Boyan knew that their previous plan had completely failed.
Originally, as he and Wang Boyan had expected, the scale of the Jin soldiers' march south this time was far greater than the previous one. Bianliang, Tokyo, would definitely fall, and the emperor and the Supreme Emperor would also become prisoners of the Jin soldiers... At that time, Zhao Gou would act as The only prince of the clan who was free from the outside world, and who was sitting on the army of Hebei and several states. With his reputation and strength, he was bound to get the support of the people all over the world and be elected as the next emperor of the Song Dynasty.
Unexpectedly, Immortal Guo and Doraemon showed their might at the top of Bianliang City, and more than 100,000 golden soldiers were wiped out like paper... As a result, Zhao Gou, the king of Kang who opened the government in Xiangzhou and had a large army, suddenly lost everything. Unprepared and shocked, he discovered that he, a self-respecting prince, had gone from being the most popular candidate to inherit the throne to being the most jealous target of the Bianliang court... Oops! How should it end now?
Obviously, it is simply impossible to invade Bianliang and seize the throne by force - not to mention the comparison of the military strength of the two sides, as well as the righteousness of the court, just based on the votes of his subordinates who have just known each other for a few days. , he just managed to become a familiar general, and he would never go crazy with him.
But if he just surrendered, gave up the military power and territory he had finally obtained, and returned to Bianliang in despair... Zhao Gou felt frightened and unwilling, and he was deeply worried about his future and destiny - just after a few Months ago, he clearly saw how his seemingly benevolent imperial brother deceived the Supreme Emperor (Song Huizong) back to Bianliang from Jiangnan, and then immediately imprisoned him in the cold palace like a prisoner.
If he goes back without any protection or preparation, who knows whether he will be in a prison cell or exiled to Lingnan?
In this regard, Wang Boyan, who was tied up on the same pirate ship, while sighing that God would not bless him, suggested that Zhao Gou use the gap before the court had time to react and use the abundant supplies in Xiangzhou to continue to do everything possible. Coerce more troops, support the troops with self-respect and confront Bianliang... Even if there is no chance to touch the Ninth Five-Year Master, at least we must find a decent ending!
However, the Song Dynasty court, which had always been slow and chaotic, moved much faster on this matter than they expected...
Therefore, Zhao Gou was not as optimistic as Wang Boyan. Instead, he was a little depressed, "... Well, I know that Xiangzhou City has thick walls and rich reserves, which can handle major events... It's a pity that the old master is coming back. ! ”
He spread out the letter in his hand and stuffed it into Wang Boyan's hand, "...This is the latest news from Beijing. Brother Huang intends to use Han Xiaozhou to propagate Hebei and station him in Xiangzhou - isn't this clearly meant for me? Is the Hebei Generalissimo pulling out all the money? ”
——According to the practice of the Northern Song Dynasty, officials were not allowed to govern their own hometowns. This was the case for all places directly under the central government, except for Jisizhou County on the border. However, due to his great achievements in supporting Yingzong and Shenzong, Han Qi was able to serve as a state official in his hometown of Xiangzhou many times. A year before his death, he was able to judge Xiangzhou as a grand master as an honor for returning to his hometown to retire. Emperor Shenzong even personally promised the Han family to be hereditary officials and prime ministers. Therefore, starting from Han Qi, the Han family monopolized the position of governor of Xiangzhou for four consecutive generations. Except for the Han family in Xiangzhou, no scholar-bureaucrat in the Northern Song Dynasty could have such a heart-breaking honor.
As the great-grandson of Han Qi, although the former magistrate of Xiangzhou, Han Xiaozhou, is far less talented and famous than his great-grandfather, he is the head of the Han family in Xiangzhou after all, and his influence on this land is very important. Since Han Qi, Han Xiaozhou has The fourth generation of the family governed the townships and counties. He was the first wealthy family in Xiangzhou. He was almost an out-and-out local emperor. He was like a giant tree with roots deeply rooted in the land of Xiangzhou. No one could easily shake it in a short time. .
Although after the Jin army went south to Bianliang for the first time, Han Xiaozhou lost confidence in preserving the ancestral property of Xiangzhou in Hebei. After continuing to serve as the magistrate of Xiangzhou for a few months and transferring the children of the family business south, he transferred this hot property to the south. The position was lost to Wang Boyan. But Xiangzhou is, after all, a family fiefdom that has been inherited by the Han family for nearly a hundred years, and it is impossible to erase the influence of this family in just a few months. The reason why Zhao Gou was able to stand on his own in Xiangzhou was because of the savings left by the Han family in terms of food preparation and weapons. In terms of handling civil affairs, Wang Boyan also followed the team left by Han Xiaozhou.
Therefore, if Han Xiaozhou came with the imperial decree and raised his arms, I am afraid that the entire Xiangzhou, from the gatekeepers to the subordinate officials in the yamen, would defect on the spot. And if Wang Boyan dares to make a conspiracy to assassinate Han Xiaozhou, then as long as there is a hint of news, it is still unknown whether he and Zhao Gou can walk out of Xiangzhou City alive - in such a short period of time, they have not had time to establish a reliable relationship. team of confidants.
"...The lonely imperial brother is helpless against the Jin people and can only rely on strange powers and chaos. It is a good method for his brothers!"
Zhao Gou said with a hint of resentment, helplessness and cowardice evident in his voice, "...The situation is now beyond control. How do you think we should deal with it?"
However, Wang Boyan had already woken up from the initial panic, "...back to Your Highness, the imperial court appointed Han Xiaozhou to propagate Hebei. It was indeed a cruel move that broke our foundation. But after all, he had already escorted the Han family. The family moved south to avoid disaster. Even though Han Xiaozhou was loyal to the king, it would take several months at the earliest for His Highness to turn around and come back again after receiving the news! We can use this time to continue to use our hands and feet in Hebei to bring the elite places such as Daming Prefecture and Dongping Prefecture under control as soon as possible. As long as we raise the banner and build momentum, volunteers from all over the country will definitely flock to Xiangzhou Station in the future. If it doesn’t hold up, His Highness can also use the name of commanding the Northern Expedition to move his troops to the Daming and Topei areas and continue to calmly deal with the imperial court.”
He concluded this way, "...as long as His Highness keeps fighting back the Jinlu and regaining the lost territory, and holds tens of thousands of troops near the capital, at a time when the world is in chaos, in order to avoid causing trouble to Xiao Qiang, the imperial court will not dare to fight easily. Your Highness is in trouble. As long as the imperial court does not dare to use troops to attack Your Highness, Hebei's troops and reserves can be used by me... Please don't be depressed, there is still hope for everything."
"...Forget it! Now that the matter has come to this, we can only deal with the imperial brother." Zhao Gou sighed and said, "...Everything is thanks to Lao Tingjun."
Unfortunately, at the next moment, a sudden riot broke out, ruining all the plans of this pair of ambitious people.
——At first, the sound of "dang, clang, clang, clang" alarm bells came from the top of the city, and then the noisy shouts became more and more intense. It was as if the whole city was boiling in an instant. Thousands of people were shouting wildly, causing the snow on the roof tiles to fall rustlingly...
This sudden change made everyone in the Zhoujin Hall feel baffled and completely confused. Just in case, Zhao Gou and Wang Boyan summoned their personal guards to strengthen their vigilance, and at the same time sent people out to inquire about the news. But before the inquiring people could go out, one of Wang Boyan's horse servants broke in and reported an incredible news to them in a loud voice!
"...Master! Your Highness! This is incredible! The imperial court has sent heavenly soldiers and generals to attack Xiangzhou!!!"
The amount of information in this paragraph made Wang Boyan stunned for a few seconds, and then he subconsciously slapped his hands, "...what are you talking about?"
Then, he raised his head in the courtyard and saw the huge shadow of the floating castle "Third New Tokyo" oppressing all living beings. So, at the next moment, Wang Boyan, the famous traitor who attempted to split the country, finally couldn't help but his legs softened, his vision went dark, and he fainted.